The Wild Things star said his canine had been ailing in recent months; in November, he’d posted a pic of the dog sporting bandages with the caption, “My man Paulie home from the hospital.”

The dog was named “Paulie” in honor of Burt Young’s scrappy character from the Rocky film series.

“At six weeks he reminded me of Rocky [Balboa’s] brother [-in-law] Paulie,” Sedgwick told People in 2009. “It made no sense. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. He looked like this little tough guy who the second he came into our apartment wreaked havoc.”